Brett Bodine Racing was a NASCAR racing team from 1996 until 2003. It was owned by former NASCAR driver Brett Bodine and his then-wife Diane, and fielded the No. 11 car for Bodine, who purchased the team from Junior Johnson & Associates (for whom he had driven for in 1995) during the 1995–96 offseason. In purchasing the team Brett joined his brother Geoff as an owner-driver, Geoff having purchased the assets of AK Racing after Alan Kulwicki (also an owner-driver) was killed in a plane crash on April 1, 1993.

The team closed following the 2003 season after failing to find a full-time sponsor.

Cup Series

Car No. 11 history Brett Bodine drove the 11 car for Junior Johnson in 1995 with Lowe's sponsorship and drove the car again with Lowe's sponsorship in 1996 as an owner/driver. Brett's team struggled with consistency that season but they did manage to finish 24th in the points standings, with one top-ten. After the season, Lowe's left to sponsor the No. 31 at Richard Childress Racing and Bodine's sponsorship woes began.

1997 saw Brett sign a long term sponsorship deal that would put Close Call Phone Cards on the car. The season started off well with Bodine achieving two top-ten finishes in the first nine races. However, just half-way into the season Close-Call stopped paying its sponsorship bills and Brett was forced to strip the decals off of his car. The car ran unsponsored for the remainder of the season and Bodine was forced to sell part of the team to Andy Evans, although he later re-acquired full interest. Bodine later accused Evans of trying to steal his team.

1998 and 1999 found Bodine with reliable sponsorship from Paychex on his new Ford Taurus. He found modest success in 1998 finishing 25th overall in points, despite failing to finish in the top ten all season. He did, however, manage to finish in the top-20 on eleven occasions while also earning $1 million for the first time.

After 1998, Bodine struggled in 1999. He was only able to reach 35th-place in the final standing, again with no top tens and only four top-20s. The No. 11 team also failed to qualify for two events and Paychex chose not to return at the end of the season.

Without a sponsor having been found, Brett sold half-interest in his team once again, this time to Richard Hilton. As part of the deal Ralphs would come on as the primary sponsor. Although the sale of the team fell through Brett was able to retain the Ralphs sponsorship. However, the team reached only 35th place in the final points standings with no top tens and just 5 top twenties. They failed to qualify for five of the races.

Despite this, Ralphs came back to the team in 2001 as the primary sponsor and Brett signed RedCell Batteries as an associate, and the team received engines from Robert Yates Racing. But another blow to the organization RedCell stopped paying its dues midseason, and the team once again was forced to go without strong backing. They were able to work through these troubles and had a very successful season. They qualified for every race, finished in the top ten twice, the top twenty nine times, and moved up five spots to 30th in the points standings.

Despite the team's success in 2001 a primary sponsor was not forthcoming for 2002. Brett entered the season with just the associates Timberland Pro and Wells Fargo Financial. Dura Lube came on to help out early in the season until Brett picked up Hooters sponsorship for the 4th race of the season. At the start of the 2002 season the team were way behind in all aspects due to securing sponsorship so late in the season. Brett managed no top tens, only four top-20s, and 36th in the final standings while missing four races.

Hooters came back in 2003, but with far less money. The team scaled back to only a limited schedule. Geoff Bodine drove the car in the Bud Shootout at Daytona and Brett ran 5 early season races before Hooters pulled the plug, leaving the team with no sponsor. To compound problems, that same weekend in practice Brett was involved in a horrifying crash that sidelined him for several weeks. His brother Geoff drove the No. 11 Ford for his injured brother in its final race, finishing 39th. With no major sponsorship for his team and most of his employees laid off, Brett attempted to run at Indy in a fan-sponsored "Brick Car" where, for $500, fans would get their name on the car. The program was a success, but Brett failed to qualify for the race by 0.001 seconds. No sponsor was found and the team was sold.

Car No. 11 results NASCAR Winston Cup Series results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts 1996 Brett Bodine 11 Ford DAY32 CAR28 RCH25 ATL24 DAR27 BRI20 NWS23 MAR18 TAL23 SON20 CLT24 DOV24 POC40 MCH22 DAY9 NHA16 POC27 TAL22 IND22 GLN14 MCH28 BRI14 DAR28 RCH25 DOV27 MARDNQ NWS23 CLT28 CAR16 PHO26 ATL21 1997 DAY18 CAR17 RCH23 ATL18 DAR35 TEX19 BRI10 MAR27 SON6 TAL33 CLT26 DOV33 POC25 MCH19 CAL26 DAY23 NHA42 POC29 IND18 GLN39 MCH31 BRI31 DAR15 RCH21 NHA33 DOV26 MAR17 CLT30 TAL22 CARDNQ PHO33 ATL41 29th 2747 1998 DAY24 CAR16 LVS26 ATL26 DAR22 BRI11 TEX16 MAR13 TAL11 CAL28 CLT22 DOV16 RCH20 MCH33 POC18 SON32 NHA28 POC38 IND33 GLN34 MCH32 BRI26 NHA30 DAR42 RCH19 DOV22 MAR34 CLT19 TAL13 DAY25 PHO43 CAR31 ATL31 25th 2907 1999 DAY22 CAR33 LVS20 ATL33 DAR30 TEX18 BRI22 MAR14 TAL43 CAL28 RCH38 CLT22 DOV37 MCH30 POC26 SON31 DAY34 NHA31 POC26 INDDNQ GLN40 MCHDNQ BRI12 DAR26 RCH31 NHA29 DOV29 MAR42 CLT27 TAL31 CAR43 PHO42 HOM40 ATL30 37th 2398 2000 DAYDNQ CAR35 LVSDNQ ATL16 DAR27 BRI22 TEX23 MAR36 TALDNQ CAL41 RCH38 CLT30 DOV28 MCH36 POC32 SON30 DAYDNQ NHA20 POC30 IND39 GLNDNQ MCH42 BRI28 DAR27 RCH35 NHA42 DOV20 MAR41 CLT32 TAL26 CAR26 PHO20 HOM14 ATL28 36th 2267 2001 DAY15 CAR27 LVS38 ATL26 DAR36 BRI27 TEX28 MAR36 TAL26 CAL27 RCH39 CLT17 DOV25 MCH33 POC37 SON13 DAY9 CHI19 NHA13 POC33 IND37 GLN13 MCH40 BRI26 DAR27 RCH43 DOV28 KAN25 CLT28 MAR40 TAL12 PHO26 CAR35 HOM32 ATL36 NHA8 35th 2948 2002 DAY16 CAR30 LVS35 ATL38 DAR38 BRI36 TEX38 MAR26 TAL13 CAL23 RCH19 CLT27 DOV34 POC24 MCH34 SON24 DAY38 CHI30 NHA27 POC33 IND42 GLN32 MCH38 BRI32 DAR39 RCH20 NHA36 DOVDNQ KANDNQ TAL29 CLT26 MAR38 ATL34 CAR36 PHODNQ HOMDNQ 40th 2388 2003 DAYDNQ CAR LVS ATL41 DAR BRI24 TEX31 TALDNQ MAR CAL RCH31 CLTDNQ DOV42 POC MCHINQ† INDDNQ GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO CAR HOM 46th 469 Geoff Bodine MCH39 SON DAY CHI NHA POC† - Qualified but replaced by Geoff Bodine

Car No. 09 history 2001 saw Brett Bodine Racing expand to a two car team for two races. Driven by the No. 11's car success Brett was able to field a second car, driven by brother Geoff, at both Bristol and Homestead with sponsorship from Smirnoff Ice and Miccosukee Casino, respectively. Bodine finished 27th at Bristol and 37th at Homestead. The team was to continue to run a limited schedule in 2002 but was never able to find a primary sponsor. The No. 09 Brett Bodine Racing Fords never returned to the track, with the team number being reassigned to Phoenix Racing.

Car No. 09 results NASCAR Winston Cup Series results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts 2001 Geoff Bodine 09 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI27 DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MAR TAL PHO CAR HOM37 ATL NHA 61st 52

Car No. 27 history In 2002, Hooters had a small sponsorship deal with independent driver Kirk Shelmerdine. When Hooters signed on to sponsor the Brett Bodine Racing team, part of the deal involved Brett was to run Kirk in a couple of races in the No. 27 sponsored by Naturally Fresh Foods. However, this quickly came to end when Kirk was unable to make a race, and the drivers went their own ways.

Busch Series

Car No. 11 history This car made its debut at Richmond in 2001 with Josh Richeson, a relative of Brett's, behind the wheel. The car's numbers were 6 and 06. In 2002, the car's number was changed to 11 and Brett was able to field Josh in seven races. The car was unsponsored in two events, sponsored by Smuckers in one event and by one of Brett's cup sponsors, Timberland Pro, in the other four events. 28th was the best ever finish by this car, achieved in its final start at Richmond in 2002. The team did not have the financial means to run a Busch Series operation in 2003.

References

External links Racing Reference